Soilwork

Figure Number Five (Nuclear Blast)
by Tim Den

It’s albums like these that make me wish I’d had the foresight to see how far these guys would progress. But how could I have known that corny MiDi synths would one day be replaced by trickling ambience, recycled Carcass riffs by the sweet nectar of fluid fretwork, pseudo-techno rhythms by a siege of dance floor carpet-bombing?

Something happened after Natural Born Chaos. Soilwork somehow managed to combine their love of hard rock strutting with Gothenburg blood and Oakenfold house in a formula that didn’t stink to high heaven (unlike their previous efforts). After fumbling over two albums worth of copy-catting and another pair of horribly cheesy (because of how serious they were) “crossover” slabs of melodic death, Figure Number Five emerges as a gleaming force of untouchable perfection, well balanced in every direction the band dares to step. No one overplays: Everyone works together to mold a lock-and-key wall of sound, meaty and swollen with the right combination of rhythm, melody, inventiveness, and atmosphere.

Figure Number Five has not only slapped my ass backwards, it is without a doubt going to be my favorite metal album of the year. Gotta say I didn’t see this one coming at all… but you’re never too old to learn from your mistakes.
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250)